Fans of The Office hold on to your swivel chairs, because a brand new version of the show is in the works, and this time it is set in Australia and will have a female boss leading the charge.
The role that was David Brent in the UK, then Michael Scott in the US is now going to become Hannah Howard, and will be played by Aussie comedian and actor Felicity Ward, who has previously had roles in Wakefield and Inbetweeners 2.
This time, Howard is running an arm of a packaging company called Flinley Craddick. She receives the news that her branch is being shut down, and so goes into overdrive, trying to keep her “work family” from having to work from home. Expect mad plots and impossible targets as Howard tries to keep her office afloat.
The eight-part series, which is a collaboration between Prime Video, BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, and production company Bunya Entertainment, will launch on Prime Video in 2024 around the world – though not in the US. Production is set to begin in Sydney in June.
The cast will include Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Power of the Dog), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess, Feel Good), Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires, Thor: Love and Thunder), Josh Thomson (How to Please a Woman, Young Rock), Jonny Brugh (Thor: Love and Thunder, What We Do in the Shadows), Pallavi Sharda (The Twelve), Susan Ling Young (Reckoning, Hungry Ghosts), Raj Labade, Lucy Schmit, and Firass Dirani (Underbelly, House Husbands).
"I’m very excited about Australia remaking my little show from the turn of the century,” said Ricky Gervais. “Office politics have changed a bit in 20 years, so can’t wait to see how they navigate a modern-day David Brent.”
The Office was first released in the UK on BBC Two in 2001, and its second series aired a year later. The show picked up a lot of fans, but was still somewhat a sleeper hit. But when it was remade by NBC, and an American version was released in 2005, the US show became a massive hit.
The Office US ran for nine seasons, and made Gervais and his comedy-partner Stephen Merchant multi-millionaires. Today, Gervais is reportedly worth around $160 million, much of which is down to The Office.
Now, two decades later, the mockumentary comedy series is reimagined for a second time for English audiences. The Office has already been adapted twelve times around the world, including in France, Canada, Chile, Israel, India and Poland.
“We are thrilled to be bringing one of the biggest comedy franchises ever made to Prime Video customers in Australia and around the world,” said Prime Video Australia development boss Sarah Christie.
“The Office has connected with audiences around the world because everyone recognises their own David Brent, and now it’s Australia’s turn,” said BBC ANZ’s creative director of production, Kylie Washington.
“I can only hope that global audiences find our Aussie take on The Office as funny, self-deprecating, and believable as those that have gone before it,” said Sophia Zachariou, co-managing director of Bunya Entertainment.
